Furniture-caster.



A. F. THOMES.

FURNITURE CASTER.

APPucATmN FILED Nov.1. 1914.

Patented July 6, 1915.

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FURNITURE-CASTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 6, 1915.

Application filed November 7, 1914. Serial N o. 870,769.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it lrnown that I, ALBERT F. TI-roMns, of Portland, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Furniture- Casters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to furniture casters of that class wherein the roller may be adjusted to a position where it will take the weight of the article supported, performing the usual function of a caster or it may be housed beneath the body of the caster,bring ing the weight on a fixed base.

It is well known that when heavy tables and other articles of furniture rest constantly on castors, the latter are liable to wear a depression in the floor on which the table rests. This is particularly true where the floor is covered with rugs, carpets or linoleum and cases often occur where the floor covering is spoiled by such holes or depressions.

The object of my invention is to construct a furniture caster of the class described which will be adapted for general use and which may be cheaply made by the stamping process. This object I carry out by means of the mechanism hereinafter dcscribed and claimed.

My invention may best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which is shown the preferred form of my invention.

.In the drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my caster with the roller down and in operative position, Fig. 2 is a view taken at right angles to Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a side elevation partly in section showing the roller in its housed position with the weight carried by the base, and Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line as a: of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the leg of a table or other article of furniture to which the caster is applied, 2 is the hub or shank of the caster, 3 is the spindle or pivot and 4 is a. flange to which` the operative portion of the caster is riveted or otherwise secured..

The caster proper upon which the weight rests is made up of a hollow base composed of a pair of vertically disposed supporting side plates 5 betweenwhich is pivoted a roller 6 having an arbor 6a extending through the plates, a suitable recess 7 being formed in the side plates to form a bearing for the arbor when the roller is in its lower or working position. This recess 7 opens into a slot 8 which as here shown, extends on a curve rearwardly and upwardly, the slot being large enough to allow the arbor to slide to a position where the roller will be entirely housed and above the lower edges of the plates 5. The lower end of the plates 5 extend laterally forming bearing flanges 9 which support the table when the roller is not in operative position. As here shown, the two plates 5 are connected at the top by a web 10 to which is riveted the flange 4: and as constructed, a single piece of soft steel is bent to form the side plates 5, the flanges 9 and the connecting web 10.

Means are provided for changing the position of the roller from its lower or bearing position to its housed position. For this purpose I form a foot lever which is made up of two lateral flanges 11, here shown as parallel to and outside of the two plates 5 with a connecting web 12 constituting a footerest. This foot-rest extends forward of the plates 5 to form a bearing for the foot and the upper rear portion of the lever is pivoted to the plates 5 by a pivoting pin 13 which extends through both of the plates and the flanges 11 from side to side. The lower end of the'foot lever has a notch or bearing recess 14- which is coincident with the recess 7 in the plates 5 when the roll is in its operative position.

In housing the roller the entire weight on the table leg must be lifted so that the recess 7 will be free from the arbor, leaving the latter free to slide along the slot 8 to its upper position. In order to accomplish this, I provide a link l5 pivoted at its upper end to the pivoting pin 13, the lower end having a hub 16 which is pivoted to the foot lever just in rear of the recess 141 from which the arbor 6a projects.

In order to allow the foot lever to tilt forward when its outer end is depressed by the toe of the foot, a slot 17 is formed where the pin 13 passes through so that the upper end of the lever may have a swinging mo tion extending down as far as the-front edges of the plates 5, as shown in Fig. 3. A spring 18 is coiled about the pin 13 with its ends extending out beneath the flanges 12 and 10 and tending to hold the flange or foot-rest in a horizontal position. The foot lever may be made of a soft steel stamping similar to the hollow standard and the links may be made by the stamping process and the whole structure may be cheaply manufactured.

The operation of my caster is as follows ,-k

` the whole structure turning on the spindle 3. When it is desired to house the caster and to bring the weight on the flanges 9 the foot ispressed on the outer end of the footrest 12, the arbor acts as a fulcrum, the hub 16 and the link 15 lift the pin 13 and with it the standard and the weight which it bears. As soon as the arbor is free from the recess the upper end of the foot lever tilts forward and downward, forcing the arbor along the slot 8 to its upper or housed position. While the foot starts the movement of the lever after the arbor is clear of the slot 7, the weight of the table forces the roller upward and brings the foot-rest 12 down against the forward edges of the plates 5. The roller is now entirely housed within thehollow standard and the weight of the table holds it there. `When the table is lifted slightly the spring brings the roller again down to its bearing or operative position.

The caster when in its ordinary position with the roller housed is neat and' compact in appearance and it is well designed to be used on heavy furniture or the like which is now used without casters.

I claim 1. In a furniture caster of the character described, the combination of a hollow base including a pair of side plates, a roller between said side plates having an arbor, a pin, a link pivoted by said pin to each of said side plates at or near the top, a curved slot concentric with said pin being formed in each of said side plates as a guide for said arbor, each of said slots having a recess in its lower portion to form a bearing for said arbor when the roller is in operative position, a hub on the lower end of each of said links, a foot lever having a pair of lateral ianges and a foot-rest joining their upper portions, the lower end of each lateral flange being pivoted on said hub, a recess being formed in each of the lower ends of the foot lever for engaging said arbor forward of said hub, a slot in said lateral flanges to permit the passage of said pin and av spring for bringing said foot lever and said roller to their normal positions. y

2. In a furniture caster of the character described, the combination of a hollow base including a pair of side plates, a roller between said side plates having an arbor, a foot lever consisting of a pair of lateral flanges outside of said side plates connected at their upper ends by a foot-rest, said lateral flanges each having a recess at its lower end to engage said arbor, a pin for pivoting said foot lever to said side plates, a slot being formed in the side plates in which said arbor may travel fromv an operative to a housed position, said `slot having an offset recess at its lower portion to form a bearing for the roller when the latter is in operative posin tion.

3. In a furniture caster of the character described, the combination of a hollow base including a pair of side plates, a roller between said side plates having an arbor eX- tending through said side plates, a link pivoted to-each side plate at or near the top and a f oot lever having two lateral flanges and a connecting foot-rest, said foot lever being pivoted to the lower ends of said links and to said arbor, slots being formed in the side plates to permit the roller to move from an operative to a housed position when the foot lever is depressed.

4. In a furniture caster of the character described, the combination of a hollow base including a pair of side plates, a roller between said side plates having an arbor eX- p i holding the foot lever in operative position. i

5. In a furniture caster of the` character described, the combination of a hollow base including a pair of side plates, a roller between said side plates having an arbor eX- tending through said side plates, a link pivoted to each side plate at or neary the top, a foot lever having two lateral flanges and a connectingfoot-rest, said foot lever being pivoted to the lower ends of said links and to said arbor, slots being formed in the side plates to permit the roller to move from an operative to a housed position when the foot lever is depressed and a recess offset from each of said slots to form a regular bearing I for said arbor. f

6. In a furniture caster of the character described, the combination ofk a hollow base including a pair of side plates, a roller between said side plates having an arbor eX- tending through said kside plates, a link pivoted to each side plate at or near the top, a foot lever having two lateral anges and a connecting foot-rest, said foot lever being pivoted to the lower ends of said links and to said arbor, slots being formed in the side plates to permit the roller to move from an operative to a housed position when the foot lever is depressed and slots being formed in the lateral flanges of said foot lever through which the link pivots pass to permit said foot-rest to be tilted forward and downward.

7. In a furniture caster of the character described, the combination of a hollow base including a pair of side plates, a roller between said side plates, an arbor for said roller extending through said side plates, said side plates each having a bearing recess for said arbor and a guide slot connecting with said recess and formed to guide the arbor to a position to house the roller and a foot lever for forcing said arbor out of said recess and along said guide slot.

8. In a furniture caster of the character described, the combination of a hollow base including a pair of side plates, a roller between said side plates, an arbor for said roller, a bearing recess being formed in each of said side plates to form bearings for said arbor, said side plates having formed therein a guide slot connecting with said bearing recess and means for releasing the arbor from said recess and forcing it through said guide slot to a position where the roller will be housed within the hollow base.

In testimony whereof lf have aflixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT F. THOMES.

Witnesses S. WV. BATES, C. B. CREIGHTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of atents, Washington, D. C. 

